Effect of methoprene and PPF on fruit fly (Diptera:Tephritidae) fecundity

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is considered a tool for sustainable pest control and is known to substantially improve the control of economically important fruit flies through male-only releases facilitated by the mass-rearing of genetic sexing strains. However, the production of these strains is more costly because adult colonies must be at least three times larger than those of bisexual strains in order to produce the same number of eggs. The present study determined the viability of increasing the egg production of the genetic sexing strain Vienna 8 of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and the bisexual strain of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) by using the juvenoids methoprene and pyriproxyfen to stimulate female fecundity. We evaluated doses of 0.05, 0.03, and 0.01%, which were incorporated into the adult diet. We determined the effect on potential female fecundity, female fecundity, female fertility, and male and female survival in both species. The results showed that the methoprene and pyriproxyfen doses used did not have an effect on potential fecundity, fecundity, and fertility in females of C. capitata, but there was an effect in females of A. ludens. The juvenoids also had a negative effect on adult survival in both species. In conclusion, using either of the two juvenoids can increase egg production in a mass-rearing facility of A. ludens but not of C. capitata, and their application requires further evaluation